When the alarm went off on Sunday morning at five a.m. the world was still very dark. As usual before something exciting, I couldn’t sleep, so it seemed as though we’d just gotten to sleep when it was time to get up. We still managed to be on the road riding by 6:30, watching sunrise off to our right as we headed out.
We had our best riding day in a while. With calm winds and the heat yet to rise to its usual blistering levels, we made much better time than we have recently. What a relief it was! The scenery was nice, nothing breathtaking, but very pleasant. We had a couple of fun things along the route – Chelsea loves to collect money she finds, and just out of Port Lavaca she spotted quarters and dimes – that’s a real haul for her.
Then we spotted two does and two fawns right next to the road. They were so close we could almost have touched them before they spooked and ran under the bridge. They appeared on the other side so we stayed still to watch them. Wow, could they jump! Seeing the deer was worth stopping and taking photos.
We managed at least ten miles before our first break, which for us lately in this heat was really an accomplishment. We made it twenty-two miles into Tivoli well before ten a.m.
One of our reliable strategies is to check out the local town and look for what appears to be a truly local spot. In this case, we needed shade, too. We found Canales, a small café in town, and blessedly they had a covered patio in back with lawn chairs and tables. The heat had just kicked up over the hundred-degree mark, and the winds had started rising.
We were lucky to meet Joe, the owner, right as we pulled up. After explaining our situation, he told us to camp on his property, and indicated the area we could use. He added that we could use the patio to hang out in, but warned us that they close at three p.m., so we’d have to run over to the nearby gas station for any bathroom facilities.
We decided to just hang out on the patio before putting up our tent, as we wouldn’t want to be in the tent during the day, we couldn’t see the tent from the patio so it would be unattended and out of sight, and we didn’t want to advertise for hours that we were camping there for the night.
The heat index rose rapidly, and Chelsea started fading fast. We took off our helmets, shoes, and water packs, and that helped, but we were sitting under a metal roof, which increased the feeling of heat. It was shaping up to be a looong hot day.
As we sat, a guy drove up in his pickup truck, and after texting a few minutes, introduced himself to us. His name is Bubba, he works for a pawnshop in Rockport, and he does eBay and other online sales. He was in Tivoli to show some Pontiac GTOs and TransAm cars to a potential buyer.
We chatted off and on for an hour or so, as he would pop out to do business, then return. After his business appeared to be completed, he asked if we wanted a ride to Rockport. We hesitated, as we knew our couchsurfing host wasn’t expecting us, and we did have a campsite lined up. We explained our hesitation to him, and as he listened, he kept texting. We then discovered he’d texted his roommates to see if they minded if we stayed the night. They sent him an immediate yes for hosting us.
On the drive to Rockport we were really impressed with the level of heat – the heat waves were so thick that the trees in the distance looked like they were sitting in pools of water. We were SO glad to not be riding in that!
Copano Oaks
Bubba lives with two roommates, Keith and Chanel, his golden lab Babe, and Chanel and Keith’s dog Lulu, in a two-bedroom one-bath house in a small community off the southwestern side of the long bridge into the north end of Rockport. It’s on a small dirt drive that parallels Hwy 35 and ends up out on the bay. About eight homes are scattered along the road, which leads to a beautiful swimming pool built into the bluff overlooking the bay. The pool is a community pool, and there’s a dock and fishing area down at the bay level.
The whole area is extremely peaceful and gives a feeling of isolation even though it’s right next to Hwy 35. Every house and all the land is owned by one woman, whose husband just died at Easter (on her birthday), in a tragic accident. Since it’s an isolated community, everyone knows everyone else, and has become like family to each other.
We spent a few hours with Bubba out at the pool (I got some alone time looking out at the bay view, sitting under the shade of a huge oak tree). We then were able to take a shower, do laundry, and were invited to join the roommates for a real home cooked dinner, courtesy of Keith.
After chatting most of the evening, we had a comfortable night on the futon couch, getting a full night’s sleep for the first time in what felt like forever. On Monday, we chatted much of the day with Chanel (Keith and Chanel are a couple); then they took us over to our couchsurfing host’s home in downtown Rockport, late Monday afternoon.
Rockport
We’ve been here since late yesterday, and it’s been just wonderful. Ben and his wife Vanessa have three boys between them, all of whom are here for the month of July. They’ve got a delightful family home just a few blocks from the beach and a few blocks from downtown. After a delicious fajita-style dinner, fresh cooked by Ben, we watched various episodes of Survivor (we’ve never seen it – it was very entertaining).
We slept like rocks last night again – we heard nothing until almost nine a.m.
We’ve spent today in peaceful quiet, spending time with the boys, getting our blogs and photos done, and watching the occasional episode of CSI Las Vegas. The boys are absolutely wonderful – we haven’t enjoyed kids like this in ages. Even the dog is to-die-for-cute – it’s a Chihuahua. I had NO idea that Chihuahuas could be so cute! This is one amazing dog.
We’re getting ready for dinner now; Ben is going to grill shrimp, so Chelsea is de-veining and peeling them while I finish up the blog.
Tomorrow we’ll be going to our next couchsurfing host’s house here in Rockport. We’ve asked Ben and Vanessa if they know of any places we can stay, and we’ll ask Melissa, our next host. Bubba did offer us the opportunity to stay in his room for a month – I guess he’d take the couch. We’re talking it over.
Gotta clear the computer from the dining room table so I’ll sign off for now…